Work Is Ridiculed

4 ^[a]Now it came about that when ^(A)Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious and very angry, and he mocked the Jews. ² And he spoke in the presence of his brothers and ^(B)the ^[b]wealthy people of Samaria and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Are they going to restore the temple for themselves? Can they offer sacrifices? Can they finish it in a day? Can they revive the stones from the ^(C)heaps of rubble, even the burned ones?” ³ Now Tobiah the Ammonite was near him, and he said, “Even what they are building—^(D)if a fox were to ^[c]jump on it, it would break their stone wall down!”

^4 (E)Hear, O our God, how we are an object of contempt! ^(F)Return their taunting on their own heads, and turn them into plunder in a land of captivity. ⁵ Do not ^[d](G)forgive their guilt and do not let their sin be wiped out before You, for they have ^[e]demoralized the builders.

⁶ So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a ^[f]mind to work.

^7 [g]Now when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the ^[h]repair of the walls of Jerusalem went ^[i]on, and that the breaches began to be closed, they were very angry. ⁸ So all of them ^(H)conspired together to come to fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it.

Discouragement Overcome

⁹ But we prayed to our God, and because of them we ^(I)set up a guard against them day and night.

¹⁰ And so ^[j]in Judah it was said:

¹¹ And our enemies said, “They will not know or see until we come among them, kill them, and put a stop to the work.” ¹² When the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times, “^[k]They will come up against us from every place where you may turn,” ¹³ then I stationed men in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, the exposed places, and I ^(J)stationed the people in families with their swords, spears, and bows. ¹⁴ When I saw their fear, I stood and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people: “^(K)Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and ^(L)fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”

¹⁵ Now when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that ^(M)God had frustrated their plan, then all of us returned to the wall, each one to his work. ¹⁶ And from that day on, half of my servants carried on the work while half of them kept hold of the spears, the shields, the bows, and the coats of mail; and the captains were behind all the house of Judah. ¹⁷ Those who were rebuilding the wall and those who carried burdens carried with one hand doing the work, and the other keeping hold of a weapon. ¹⁸ As for the builders, each wore his sword strapped to his waist as he built, while ^[l]the trumpeter stood near me. ¹⁹ And I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “The work is great and extensive, and we are separated on the wall far from one another. ²⁰ At whatever place you hear the sound of the trumpet, assemble to us there. ^(N)Our God will fight for us.”

²¹ So we carried on the work with half of them holding spears from ^[m]dawn until the stars ^[n]appeared. ²² At that time I also said to the people, “Each man with his servant shall spend the night within Jerusalem, so that they may be a guard for us by night and a laborer by day.” ²³ So neither I, my brothers, my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me—none of us ^[o]removed our clothes; each took his weapon even to the water.

Timothy Charged to Guard His Trust

1 Paul, ^(A)an apostle of ^(B)Christ Jesus ^[a](C)by the will of God, according to the promise of ^(D)life in Christ Jesus,

² To ^(E)Timothy, my beloved ^[b](F)son: ^(G)Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

^3 (H)I thank God, whom I ^(I)serve with a ^(J)clear conscience ^[c]the way my forefathers did, ^(K)as I constantly remember you in my ^[d]prayers night and day, ^4 (L)longing to see you, ^(M)even as I recall your tears, so that I may be filled with joy. ^5 [e]For I am mindful of the ^(N)sincere faith within you, which first dwelled in your grandmother Lois and ^(O)your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well. ⁶ For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh ^(P)the gift of God which is in you through ^(Q)the laying on of my hands. ⁷ For God has not given us a ^(R)spirit of ^[f]timidity, but of power and love and ^[g]discipline.

⁸ Therefore ^(S)do not be ashamed of the ^(T)testimony of our Lord or of me ^(U)His prisoner, but join with me in ^(V)suffering for the ^(W)gospel according to the power of God, ⁹ who ^(X)saved us and ^(Y)called us with a holy ^(Z)calling, ^(AA)not according to our works, but according to His own ^(AB)purpose and grace, which was granted to us in ^(AC)Christ Jesus from ^(AD)all eternity, ¹⁰ but has ^(AE)now been revealed by the ^(AF)appearing of our Savior ^(AG)Christ Jesus, who ^(AH)abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, ^11 (AI)for which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher. ¹² For this reason I also suffer these things; but ^(AJ)I am not ashamed, for I know ^(AK)whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to ^(AL)protect what I have entrusted to Him ^[h]until ^(AM)that day. ^13 (AN)Hold on to the ^(AO)example of ^(AP)sound words ^(AQ)which you have heard from me, in the ^(AR)faith and love which are in ^(AS)Christ Jesus. ¹⁴ Protect, through the Holy Spirit who ^(AT)dwells in us, the ^[i](AU)treasure which has been entrusted to you.

¹⁵ You are aware of the fact that all who are in ^[j](AV)Asia ^(AW)turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. ¹⁶ The Lord grant mercy to ^(AX)the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and ^(AY)was not ashamed of my ^[k](AZ)chains; ¹⁷ but when he was in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me— ¹⁸ the Lord grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on ^(BA)that day—and you know very well what services he rendered at ^(BB)Ephesus.

Charging Interest Abolished

5 Now ^(A)there was a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their ^(B)Jewish brothers. ² For there were those who said, “We, our sons, and our daughters are many; therefore let’s ^(C)get grain so that we may eat and live.” ³ And there were others who said, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses so that we might get grain because of the famine.” ⁴ There also were those who said, “We have borrowed money ^(D)for the king’s tax on our fields and our vineyards. ⁵ And now ^(E)our flesh is like the flesh of our brothers, our children like their children. Yet behold, ^(F)we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters are forced into bondage already, and ^[a]we are helpless because our fields and vineyards belong to others.”

⁶ Then I was very ^(G)angry when I heard their outcry and these words. ⁷ So I thought it over and contended with the nobles and the leading people, and said to them, “^(H)You are lending at interest, each to his brother!” Therefore, I held a great assembly against them. ⁸ And I said to them, “We, according to our ability, ^(I)have ^[b]redeemed our Jewish brothers who were sold to the nations; now would you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us?” Then they were silent and could not find a word to say. ⁹ So I said, “The thing which you are doing is not good; should you not walk in the fear of our God because of ^(J)the taunting of the nations, our enemies? ¹⁰ And likewise I, my brothers, and my servants are lending them money and grain. Please, let’s ^[c]do without this interest. ¹¹ Please, give back to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive groves, and their houses, as well as the hundredth part of the money and of the grain, the new wine, and the oil that you are charging as interest from them.” ¹² Then they said, “We ^(K)will give it back and ^(L)will require nothing from them; we will do exactly as you say.” So I called the priests and made them ^(M)take an oath to act in accordance with this ^[d]promise. ¹³ I ^(N)also shook out the ^[e]front of my garment and said, “So may God shake out every person from his house and from his possessions who does not keep this ^[f]promise; just so may he be shaken out and emptied.” And ^(O)all the assembly said, “Amen!” And they praised the Lord. Then the people acted in accordance with this ^[g]promise.

Nehemiah’s Example

¹⁴ Furthermore, since the day that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from ^(P)the twentieth year to the ^(Q)thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, for twelve years, neither I nor my kinsmen have eaten the governor’s food allowance. ¹⁵ But the previous governors who were before me ^[h]laid burdens on the people and took from them bread and wine besides forty shekels of silver; even their servants domineered the people. But I did not do so ^(R)because of my fear of God. ¹⁶ I also ^[i]applied myself to the work on this wall; we did not buy any land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work. ¹⁷ Moreover, ^(S)there were at my table 150 Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us. ¹⁸ Now ^(T)that which was prepared for each day was one ox and six choice sheep; also birds were prepared for me, and every ten days all sorts of wine were provided in abundance. Yet for all this ^(U)I did not request the governor’s food allowance, because the forced labor was heavy on this people. ^19 (V)Remember me, my God, for good, in return for all that I have done for this people.

¹⁷ By faith ^(A)Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and the one who had ^(B)received the promises was offering up his ^[a]only son; ¹⁸ it was he to whom it was said, “^(C)Through Isaac your ^[b]descendants shall be named.” ^19 [c]He considered that ^(D)God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back ^[d]as a ^[e](E)type. ²⁰ By faith ^(F)Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come. ²¹ By faith ^(G)Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and ^(H)worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. ²² By faith ^(I)Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave orders concerning his bones.

²³ By faith ^(J)Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the ^(K)king’s edict. ²⁴ By faith Moses, ^(L)when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, ²⁵ choosing rather to ^(M)endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the temporary pleasures of sin, ^26 (N)considering the ^[f]reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the ^(O)reward. ²⁷ By faith he ^(P)left Egypt, not ^(Q)fearing the wrath of the king; for he persevered, as though ^(R)seeing Him who is unseen. ²⁸ By faith he ^[g](S)kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that ^(T)the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch them. ²⁹ By faith they ^(U)passed through the Red Sea as through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were ^[h]drowned.

³⁰ By faith ^(V)the walls of Jericho fell down ^[i](W)after the Israelites had marched around them for seven days. ³¹ By faith the prostitute ^(X)Rahab did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies ^[j]in peace.

³² And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of ^(Y)Gideon, ^(Z)Barak, ^(AA)Samson, ^(AB)Jephthah, of ^(AC)David and ^(AD)Samuel and the prophets, ³³ who by faith ^(AE)conquered kingdoms, ^(AF)performed acts of righteousness, ^(AG)obtained promises, ^(AH)shut the mouths of lions, ^34 (AI)quenched the power of fire, ^(AJ)escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, ^(AK)became mighty in war, ^(AL)put foreign armies to flight. ^35 (AM)Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their ^[k]release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; ³⁶ and others ^[l]experienced mocking and flogging, and further, ^(AN)chains and imprisonment. ³⁷ They were ^(AO)stoned, they were sawn in two, ^[m]they were tempted, they were ^(AP)put to death with the sword; they went about ^(AQ)in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ^(AR)tormented ³⁸ (people of whom the world was not worthy), ^(AS)wandering in deserts, on mountains, and sheltering in caves and holes ^[n]in the ground.

³⁹ And all these, having ^(AT)gained approval through their faith, ^(AU)did not receive ^[o]what was promised, ⁴⁰ because God had ^[p]provided ^(AV)something better for us, so that ^(AW)apart from us they would not be made perfect.